If a strategy doesn't work, stop it. Don't hide behind the words "cultural choice" because they won't protect you from the consequences.
A culture that lives by eye-for-an-eye is a culture that's going to find itself constantly oscillating between victim and executioner.
I remember once watching three kids. Kids A and B would build a tower of blocks and Kid C would knock it down. Kids A and B would be devastated, wailing terribly. While Kid A was crying Kids B and C would build another one. Kid A would lift up his head, see it, and knock it down. Kids B and C are then crying, and then Kids A and C start building a new one, and Kid B would knock it down. This would go on and on, with each child knocking down the tower in turn, and the other two crying inconsolably about it.
You are not your culture. Your choice is up to you.
A culture that lives by eye-for-an-eye is a culture that's going to find itself constantly oscillating between victim and executioner.
I remember once watching three kids. Kids A and B would build a tower of blocks and Kid C would knock it down. Kids A and B would be devastated, wailing terribly. While Kid A was crying Kids B and C would build another one. Kid A would lift up his head, see it, and knock it down. Kids B and C are then crying, and then Kids A and C start building a new one, and Kid B would knock it down. This would go on and on, with each child knocking down the tower in turn, and the other two crying inconsolably about it.
You are not your culture. Your choice is up to you.